FMCSA issues long-awaited final hours-of-service rule

The long awaited motor carrier hours-of-service (HOS) final rule was issued earlier today by the United States Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

Input on the final HOS rule had ostensibly been on the back burner prior to FMCSA issuing a notice of proposed rule making (NPRM) geared towards HOS rule changes, with an emphasis on increasing safety through updating existing commercial motor vehicle driver regulations in August 2019. The August 2019 NPRM was preceded by an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking by the FMCSA “to receive public comment on portions of the HOS rules to alleviate unnecessary burdens placed on drivers while maintaining safety on our nation’s highways and roads,” according to FMCSA. And it added that the August 2019 proposed rule received an additional 2,800 comments.  

As previously reported, in March, FMCSA Acting Administrator Jim Mullen said at the Truckload Carriers Association conference in Atlanta that FMCSA was moving forward with a final HOS rule and that FMCSA sent a final rule to the Office of Management and Budget for review.

On a media conference call today, Mullen explained that this ruling is the result of listening to all industry stakeholders, including the motor carrier industry, truckers, safety advocates, law enforcement, and state partners.

“This is also the result of thousands of hours of work from FMCSA’s dedicated career staff members,” he said. “During this process, FMCSA received 8,000 public comments, and we carefully reviewed this feedback to craft updates to the existing rules that we believe maintain safety on the nation’s roadways while adding [more] flexibility for the lives of America’s truckers.”

Mullen said this final rule is comprised of four key revisions for the HOS rule, including:

• the FMCSA providing added flexibility for the 30-minute break rule by requiring a break after eight hours of consecutive driving and allowing the break to be satisfied by a driver using on-duty, not driving status, rather than off-duty status required under the existing rule;
• the FMCSA will modify the sleeper-berth exception to allow driver to split their required 10 hours off duty into two separate periods, in the form of an 8/2 split or a 7/3 split—with neither period counting against the driver’s 14-hour driving window;
• the FMCSA will modify the adverse driving conditions exception by extending by two hours the maximum window during which driving is permitted, with the current rule already permitting two hours of additional drive time in a drivers 11-hour clock; and
• the FMCSA will change the short-haul exemption available to certain commercial drivers by lengthening the drivers’ maximum on-duty period from 12 to 14 hours and extend the distance limit within which the driver may operate from 100 air miles to 150 air miles

And Mullen said it is important to note that this new rule will not increase driving time and will continue to prevent commercial motor vehicle operators from driving for more than eight consecutive hours with at least a 30-minute change in duty status.

“The updates provided by this new rule will also assist the motor carrier industry by providing critical regulatory savings,” he said. “The trucking industry has and will continue to play a critical role in the nation’s economic recovery from this [COVID-19] pandemic. The trucking industry employs millions of people and…70% of all the nation’s freight moves via a large truck. The regulatory savings and greater efficiency provided by this final rule strengthens the motor carrier industry during this time of need.”

FMCSA officials said that this final HOS rule is estimated to provide almost $274 million in annualized cost savings for the U.S. economy and American consumers.  And they added that the new rule will have an implementation date of 120 days after its publication in the Federal Register.

The final HOS rule was warmly received by the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

“ATA has been engaged in this rulemaking process from the beginning and we are thrilled to see a final rule come to fruition,” said Dan Horvath, ATA vice president of safety policy, in a statement. “Through numerous Agency meetings and discussions with ATA’s Safety Policy Committee, we have been engaged with FMCSA since this proposal was first introduced. While the final rule does not include all of our comments, we will continue to work with Agency to ensure that HOS regulations are consistent with ATA’s commitment to safety.”

House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO) also praised the FMCSA for issuing its final rule.

“America’s truckers have been on the front lines in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, and these regulatory improvements to help them do their jobs as effectively and safely as possible come at a critical time,” he said. “These improvements to hours of service rules won’t increase driving time, but they recognize that a one-size-fits-all approach does not give drivers the necessary flexibility to make the right decisions to safely operate their vehicles.  I applaud the Secretary Chao and the Trump Administration’s continued commitment to improving the regulations in a manner that benefit workers, the flow of commerce, and the safety of our transportation system.”